LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

serra

serra f (genitive serrae)
Classical[ˈsɛr.ra]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛr.ra]

Meaning

  1. femininea saw (tool)
  2. femininea kind of sawfish
  3. femininea serrated battle order

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ferrum dentātum quō lignum secātur
serra -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 15

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeserraserrae
genitiveserraeserrārum
dativeserraeserrīs
accusativeserramserrās
ablativeserrāserrīs
vocativeserraserrae

serra, ae, f. perh. = sec - ra, seg - ra, from seco.
I. A saw, the invention of Daedalus, Ov. M. 8, 246; Sen. Ep. 90, 8; Plin. 7, 56, 57, § 198; Hyg. Fab. 274: stridens, Lucr. 2, 410: stridor serrae, Cic. Tusc. 5, 40, 116; Varr. ap. Non. 223, 19; Vitr. 2, 7: arguta, Verg. G. 1, 143 et saep.—Prov.: serram ducere cum aliquo de aliquā re, to quarrel with one about something, Varr. R. R. 3, 6, 1; so, too, quamdiu per hanc lineam serram reciprocabimus? Tert. Cor. Mil. 3.— Trop., of the back of a thin person, Mart. 11, 100, 4.—
II. Transf.
A. A kind of sawfish, Plin. 9, 2, 1, § 3; 32, 11, 53, § 145.—
B. A serrated order of battle: serra proeliari dicitur, cum assidue acceditur recediturque neque ullo consistitur tempore. Cato de re militari: Sive opus est cuneo, aut globo, aut forcipe aut turribus aut serrā uti adoriare, Fest. p. 344 Müll.; cf. Gell. 10, 9, 1; Veg. Mil. 3, 19 fin.—
C. A threshingwain, with serrated wheels, Hier. in Amos, 1; Vulg. lsa. 28, 27.—
D. Serra, in relig. lang., the name of the Tiber, acc. to Serv. Verg. A. 8, 63.

Origins

According to De Vaan, from Proto-Italic *serzā, from Proto-Indo-European *sers-eh₂, from *sers- (“to cut off”), from which he also notes Schrijver's derivation of sarrio from a zero-grade of such a root. Compare, however, Proto-Celtic *serrā (“sickle, scythe; billhook”), with a different etymology.

Descendants
  • Catalanserra
  • Italianserra
  • Occitansèrra
  • Portugueseserra
  • Sardiniansera
  • Spanishsierra
  • Englishsierrafrom Spanish sierra
  • Albaniansharrë
  • Aromaniansharã
  • Asturianserra

In English words that came into English from serra

  • sierraserra
  • serraserra

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesSerraSerra dim. SERBULA (πρίων), a saw. It is not improbable, as Virgil says (Georg. 1.144, a line rejected by some critics), that it was an invention whic…

Quick answers

What does serra mean in Latin?
serra, a noun, means “a saw (tool); a kind of sawfish; a serrated battle order”.
What is the genitive of serra?
The genitive singular is serrae. serra is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce serra?
In classical Latin, [ˈsɛr.ra]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsɛr.ra].